Improve Your Chances to Survive a Car Crash in 2014

22 Vehicles Earn IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK +

With tougher standards for the Top Safety Picks, your choice of cars meeting the standards just got smaller, but your chances of surviving a car crash improve when you select from cars from the new list with state-of-the-art safety for 2014. Adrian Lund, President of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said, “We felt it was time to offer extra recognition to manufacturers that are offering a proven crash avoidance technology.”

Highlighting the importance of the testing and awards to drive safety improvements are reports published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on fatal and nonfatal injuries relating to motor vehicle accidents. The most recent reports indicate that:

Founded in 1959, the Institute’s purpose was to support highway safety efforts by others. A decade later, IIHS was reinvented as an independent research organization.

Since the 2013 IIHS winners were announced, the field of winning cars has narrowed from 130 to 39. Twenty-two of these earned the TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.

If you are driving one of the cars from the 2013 award list, it doesn’t mean your car is suddenly not safe. According to Mr. Lund, “Your car still offers a high level of protection. However the Institute is raising the bar. The new list shows people those cars with state-of-the-art safety for 2014.”

To earn the basic TOP SAFETY PICK award cars must have top ratings in all 5 crash tests including a good or acceptable rating in their new front small overlap car crashes.

To earn the top rating TOP SAFETY PICK+, cars also have to offer an effective front crash prevention system – either a before collision warning or auto brake to prevent or mitigate crashes.

We’ve seen our clients suffer serious injuries from minor to moderate collisions. As we think of those we know who have been injured or lost their lives in these kinds of car crashes, we congratulate IIHS for pushing higher safety standards to the forefront of car manufacturing.